Atletico’s summer of change: Simeone arriving at a crossroads?

When Diego Simeone was appointed as manager of Atletico Madrid in 2011, it just felt right.

Although Simeone had a lot to prove after a fairly nomadic start to life in the dugout, the playing squad he inherited at Los Colchoneros were almost tailor made for the fiery Argentinian.

The likes of Luis Perea, Miranda, Gabi, Diego Godin, Juanfran and Filipe Luis where by no means short on quality, but thrived on the nitty-gritty, organisational and almost street fighter characteristics shared by Simeone.

A successful eight years have followed, where the players have almost been an extension of their manager on the pitch. All on the same page, cut from the same cloth so to speak. Some players have moved on but have generally been replaced by better players of a similar nature. The core group has always stayed in situ, allowing Simeone’s playing style and set up to become ingrained in the players and the club.

Simeone has built a strong relationship with his team over the years, particularly with Godin who has consistently been a stalwart in his first XI. (Credit: SportsMax)

Despite being hugely successful, the somewhat nuts and bolts way ‘El Cholo’ has set Atletico up over the years has drawn criticism in some quarters. He has countered this by saying that he sets his teams up based on the qualities of the players at his disposal.

Players like Godin, Filipe Luis, Juanfran etc. are never going to produce silky, dynamic football. It’s about being efficient and the eight years of Simeone’s reign to date has proved him undeniably correct in sticking by his setup and squad.

As they say though, nothing lasts forever. With Gabi having already moved on, this summer will see the departures of the aforementioned Diego Godin, Filipe Luis and Juanfran. Veterans of over six hundred games between them for the club under Simeone’s stewardship and the long term bedrock he has built his pragmatic, counter attacking style on.

This, aligned with the likely departure of Antoine Griezmann and possibly Saul Niguez, will leave some huge holes to fill if Atletico are to maintain their place at the top end of La Liga and European football.

The Frenchman will be their biggest miss if he decides to depart this summer. (Credit: Goal.com)

So, without the imperious Godin to lead from the back, without his trustworthy defensive deputy’s Filipe Luis and Juanfran to depend upon and, possibly, without the world-class, line-breaking movement, invention and of course goals of Griezmann, will Simeone stick or twist?

Will he look for able replacements to carry on the same narrow, compact, counter attacking philosophy. Or will he use this as the chance to evolve into a more fluid, possession based attacking team?

A big decision for the Argentine. Try replicating previous success with a new group and you risk stagnating. Or move away from the tried and tested, become less reliant on defensive solidity and a more offensive unit as a whole. One which wants to dominate possession, be more comfortable taking risks and play in the opposition’s half more.

The players that are moving on will be extremely difficult to replace in terms of their quality (Griezmann, Godin, Niguez) or their experience under Simeone (Filipe Luis, Juanfran). So now might be the time for Simeone to loosen the shackles and show that he can evolve Atletico and prove as a coach, he can do things in another way.

Either way, the recruitment this summer will be key, and a clear indication of which way the club is heading on the pitch.

By Chris Kelly (@ccalciok)